Archive: Dec 2019



STORY OF THE DAY • Dec 17, 2019 • 15 min read

Communities on the river Currents of time

By Andrew Haffner • Dec 17, 2019
In 1991, National Geographic photographer Michael Yamashita traversed the length of the Mekong, from source to sea, in a groundbreaking trip documenting the communities for which the river was so central to life. The Globe sat down with Yamashita to reflect on his journey almost three decades on, as well as hear his thoughts on the dams and environmental degradation blighting the river today

STORY OF THE DAY • Dec 16, 2019 • 9 min read

Urban development The grass is never greener

By Julija Veljkovic • Dec 16, 2019
As Phnom Penh’s construction sector booms, communities suffer as public recreational areas are sacrificed for never-ending new developments. In an economic environment where money trumps all, who will preserve vital green spaces for the capital's residents?

STORY OF THE DAY • Dec 13, 2019 • 2 min read

Editorial Governments on trial

By Chia Chi Hsu • Dec 13, 2019
This week we looked at how Myanmar is the only country in the world in which its government is still planting landmines, as well as Cambodia’s shaky human rights pledge and how the Kingdom will handle the changing world order in the decades to come. Our special report this week also drew attention to the uniquely modern phenomenon of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh watching – on mobile phones in refugee camps 7,500km away – Myanmar’s embattled leader Aung San Suu Kyi defend her country on charges of genocide at The Hague.

STORY OF THE DAY • Dec 12, 2019 • 11 min read

International Court of Justice The battle of The Hague

By Andrew Haffner • Dec 12, 2019
As Myanmar's de-facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi takes the unprecedented step of defending her nation on charges of genocide in front of the International Court of Justice, Rohingya Muslims watch on with fear and trepidation using mobiles phones from refugee camps in Bangladesh

Dec 11, 2019 • 13 min read
International relations

Cambodia and the great powers

In the second instalment in our eight-week partnership with Future Forum, a Cambodian think tank, we examine the Kingdom's attempts to navigate the choppy waters of great power politics.
By Simon Roughneen • Dec 11, 2019

Dec 10, 2019 • 6 min read
Cambodian civil society

A not-so-fond farewell

This year will be the last in which Human Rights Day will be officially marked in Cambodia after the government's decision to remove it from its list of public holidays. Chak Sopheap, Executive Director of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights, reflects on this symbolic gesture and what it means for rights in the Kingdom
By Chak Sopheap • Dec 10, 2019

Dec 09, 2019 • 11 min read
Landmines in Myanmar

Explosive evidence

For the second year in a row, the International Campaign to Ban Landmines has found that Myanmar is the only country in the world where the government is still using landmines. As the devices wreak havoc on communities nationwide, why is international funding to de-mine the country dropping?
By Samantha McCabe • Dec 09, 2019

Dec 06, 2019 • 2 min read
Editorial

Democratic illusions

The illusion of democracy has cast its net wide in Southeast Asia. This week we looked at the dangers human rights activists face in Thailand, how public flogging humiliates and degrades people in Indonesia’s Aceh province, what Cambodia’s future is projected to look like, and more.
By Julija Veljkovic • Dec 06, 2019

Dec 06, 2019 • 7 min read
Corporal punishment

Sticks and stones

Top stories: Public floggings prescribed under strict sharia law were on the rise in Indonesia’s Aceh province in 2015, with a new bylaw set to usher in an era of even harsher corporal punishment.
By Sebastian Strangio • Dec 06, 2019

Dec 05, 2019 • 8 min read
Thai democracy

Fighting the chill

Thailand's first election since 2011 saw ex-military leader Prayut Chan-ocha elected prime minister in March. But in the face of the government's challenge to upstart opposition politician Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit of the Future Forward Party, as well as dissenters nationwide, Thai civil society activists have vowed to keep fighting.
By Andrew Haffner • Dec 05, 2019

Dec 04, 2019 • 3 min read
Artist

Ing Phousera (Séra)

An artist whose creations were dedicated to the Cambodian tragedy depicts a vision for a brighter future for the Future Forum 2040 project
By Tassilo Brinzer • Dec 04, 2019